Exploring Medical Egg Freezing as a Disease Management Strategy

ABSTRACT

Medical egg freezing (MEF) allows women with fertility-threatening diseases to have their oocytes cryopreserved and stored for later use. Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease that might cause infertility. Qualitative research on endometriosis patients’ experiences with MEF is minimal. I report on in-depth interviews among French endometriosis patients undertaking MEF. Their experiences are profoundly shaped by endometriosis-related pain. Egg freezing was described as a disease management strategy to cope with potential future infertility integral to their commitment to motherhood. Singlehood was a determining element for agreeing to undertake a physically and psychologically costly “additional” medical intervention.

RÉSUMÉ

L’autoconservation ovocytaire (AO) permet aux femmes atteintes d’une maladie potentiellement stérilisante de faire cryoconserver et stocker des ovocytes pour une utilization ultérieure. L’endométriose est une maladie gynécologique susceptible de provoquer l’infertilité. Les recherches qualitatives sur les femmes atteintes d’endométriose ayant autoconservé des ovocytes sont limitées. Je présente une étude menée auprès de Françaises atteintes d’endométriose ayant congelé des ovocytes. Leurs expériences sont profondément marquées par l’expérience de la douleur. L’AO a été associée au désir d’enfant et décrite comme une stratégie de gestion de la maladie. Être célibataire fut déterminant pour accepter une intervention médicale “supplémentaire” coûteuse physiquement et psychologiquement.

KEYWORDS:

• endometriosis
• France
• medical egg freezing
• pain experience
• qualitative research
• single women

MOTS CLÉS:

• endométriose
• France
• autoconservation ovocytaire
• expérience de la douleur
• recherche qualitative
• femmes célibataires

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by a grant from the Mexican Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) and received funding from the French Agence de la biomédecine (ABM).

Notes on contributors

Yolinliztli Pérez-Hernández

Yolinliztli Pérez-Hernández is a socio-medical anthropologist. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Bern, Switzerland. She holds a master’s degree in political and social sciences from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and a Ph.D. in social anthropology and ethnology from the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in partnership with the Institut national d’études démographiques (INED). Her research interests include medical anthropology, anthropology of reproduction, gender and feminist theory, feminist science and technology studies (STS), and feminist technoscience.